Four Senate Democrats said on Thursday, Nov. 12, that they would oppose any short-term spending bill that does not restrict the administration's use of federal money for the war against Iran, raising the stakes of a funding deadline that falls on Dec. 11. Federal funding runs out that day unless Congress acts, according to The Hill and Roll Call.
In a joint statement on Thursday, Sens. Michael Bennet, Bernie Sanders, Chris Van Hollen and Tammy Duckworth said they would not support a patch that lacks "language that restricts the Trump Administration from using appropriated funds to continue his war against Iran," The Hill and Roll Call reported. Van Hollen went further on MSNOW on Thursday night, saying Democrats should shut down the government if that is what it takes to end the war, Punchbowl News reported.
A narrow margin in the Senate
The arithmetic of the Senate gives those four senators more weight than their number suggests, because any short-term bill needs about seven Democratic votes to pass the chamber, The Hill reported on Thursday. Party leaders had not decided by Thursday whether to risk a shutdown over the issue, according to The Hill.
Tim Kaine is drafting language to end the war that he wants attached to the next continuing resolution, and he told Roll Call this week, "I know it's going to be my main push." Patty Murray, the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, told The Hill, "We're going to look at every tool we have available," and The Hill reported that she wants a short continuing resolution that keeps the government open into next year.
The president's request
President Trump added a second pressure point on Thursday, when he called on Majority Leader John Thune to "IMMEDIATELY move" a budget reconciliation package that would provide $350 billion in supplemental Defense Department funding, The Hill reported. Sen. Mike Rounds said that pushing reconciliation during the lame-duck session would "absolutely" increase the risk of a shutdown, according to The Hill.
Where a deal might land
Leaders in both parties have been looking at a short-term agreement that would run into April, The Hill reported this week, while sources told Roll Call that the administration is considering a stopgap through March. The Office of Management and Budget had not yet submitted its "anomalies" for such a bill, Roll Call reported. Punchbowl News reported that Congress is almost certain not to pass a full year of funding by Dec. 11.
The present standoff stands in contrast with the vote that set up this deadline. On Sept. 1, Democrats and Republicans "almost unanimously" approved a short-term patch that pushed the fight past the midterm elections, The Hill reported. Ten weeks later, Democrats who won those midterms are weighing whether to withhold their votes on the next one, knowing that they take control of both chambers in January, as Roll Call noted.
A lapse on Dec. 11 would be the third shutdown of President Trump's second term, according to The Hill. Punchbowl described it as the third shutdown fight in just over a year. Congress has four weeks from Friday, Nov. 13, to avoid it.